April 2018
Market Halls has signed a 15 year lease to take the 10,000 sq ft building over two levels. It will open in Spring this year as a food hall with 10 different kitchen concepts along with a bar and seating for 180 people. GCW worked with CBRE Global Investors to unlock the value and potential of the listed site, which previously had a long lease in place but had remained vacant for some time.
“We have been looking for an operator that will bring back to life this historical building. Through astute asset management we have been able to negotiate a surrender with the existing tenant and re-let this building to Market Halls” says Caitriona Hunter, CBRE Global Investors director.
GCW acts as letting agent on Fulham Broadway Shopping Centre which is based around a thriving transport hub with a Vue Cinema and a number of restaurants at first floor and retail on the ground floor. GCW had discussed options for the former ticket hall with gastro pub operators and restaurant chains and wanted to bring in someone to complement the features of the listed building and create a dynamic environment.
“Market Halls is part of a new wave of different style food operators in the leisure sector and is a perfect fit for the building. It caters for different customers under one roof and can rotate the different type of operators to suit the demographics and market conditions and can also become a test bed for new restaurant concepts. The Market Halls letting will draw people to the area and benefit the larger scheme” says GCW director Philippe Micheal.
Market Halls is opening three food halls this year, all turning iconic London landmarks into permanent food halls. The other two sites will be Terminus Place in Victoria which was the old Pacha nightclub and a flagship venue on Oxford Street in part of the former BHS building.
GCW has advised CBRE GI on Fulham Broadway and Hammersmith Broadway shopping centres following its acquisition of the two centres three years ago. GCW advised on the purchase of the centres and was then retained as agent, providing leasing, asset management and lease advisory services on the centres.
Food halls are booming across Europe. The latest research estimates 100 food halls are open or under construction and another 200 venues are in the pipeline over the next decade. Some of the most successful recent openings in London include Dinerama and Mercato Metropolitano and Market House in Altrincham, Manchester. The research report predicts that the UK’s major cities will see a plethora of food hall openings if planning consents can be secured.